Heart Disease

This forum is for cat lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitute for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your cat.

Hi Rafiki (what a beautiful name!) ~ I've had a heart murmur (does that count?) for several years, although at the past few visits to my Vet she hasn't heard it.
I'll be 13 in May, I can still play, watch birds, eat, use the litter box fine, & be my usual scaredy-catness.
Wishing you well.
>^..^< Dallia

What sort of heart disease, Rafiki? I don't know much about heart disease, but my littermate Truck had cardiomyopathy and went to the bridge before he was a year old. Mom learned only later that some medicines could have helped him.

Hi Rafiki! I have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I take a little quarter of a pill 2 times a day, and you would never know I had anything wrong. Mom is sometimes a little over paranoid mol, but I have an ultrasound coming up next week to see if the heart damage is worse or hopefully that it is stable. There are several heart groups on here that have lots of info, and I learned ALOT from Bumpurr. He posts alot in the health forum & his Mom is very helpful. SHe was one of the first to respond to me when I asked about my problem in September. It helps to know what kind of heart disease you have, so you can learn more about it. Purrs, Tigger

My kitty was recently diagnosed with heart disease. We found this out after he had what's called a thromboembolism (or Saddle Thrombus) which is when the heart develops a clot which travels down the spine and into the legs, paralyzing the cats legs. It is a terrible condition, most often ending in death. Sammy lived through it but there is a huge chance he will have another embolism. Not trying to scare you but from what I read it happens in cats with Heart Disease. Sammy had to be put on Plavix (an anti-clotting medicine mostly used in humans) which is costing us a pretty penny...but it's the best treatment for what he has. My suggestion is to ask your vet about the possiblility your kitty could develop a thromboembolism and ask him what kind of treatment he would recommend. It's so important to prevent an embolism if at all possible. Once they have one, it's often too late to save them. My vet said that my cat Sammy just had a partial embolism...the full kind is the worst but it can be prevented with Plavix. Good luck to u!

I lost a kitty last year to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He was barely a year old, and had previous other health issues. We didn't even know anything was wrong with him, he just collapsed while at the vets for something else, despite all efforts they were unable to save him. It broke my heart as we had just barely 'officially' adopted him a few weeks before.

Hey Bumpurr,
Yes it is very logy for me also. My Stepson had to be on Coumadin, otherwise known as Warfarin, for his heart problems and it is not expensive at all. You might want to see if cats can take that instead.But please do not go and use any rat poison! Mom just did a Googel search and there are a lot of sites to read. But I trust Bumpurr will help you! Good luck and we all wish you well!